


move on the way a storm blows through

by notthebigspoon



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-28
Updated: 2013-02-28
Packaged: 2017-12-03 21:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/702704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notthebigspoon/pseuds/notthebigspoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jonathan isn’t sure how much he likes Pittsburgh. He always feels like he’s cold and he wonders what it will do to his motion. He misses his son and the house he’s renting feels too big even though it’s tiny. He doesn't know anyone and he's so lonely. He's as close as he's ever been to hating the show.</p><p>Title taken from Better as a Memory by Kenny Chesney.</p>
            </blockquote>





	move on the way a storm blows through

**Author's Note:**

> Has a sneaking reference to a background pairing that cropped up while I was on a writing binge. I'll probably post more of that later.

Jonathan isn’t sure how much he likes Pittsburgh. He always feels like he’s cold and he wonders what it will do to his motion. He misses his son and the house he’s renting feels too big even though it’s tiny. He doesn't know anyone and he's so lonely. He's as close as he's ever been to hating the show.

He scores a save in the opening week, a good start in a town where, according to the blogs, people were writing him off before the season had even started. He gives the obligatory statement to media and grabs his things, slipping away as quickly as he can unnoticed. He still doesn’t really know these guys and if he’s gone before things start emptying out, it means he can get away before getting caught in the crossfire of invitations he’s left out of and subsequent awkward looks and silences.

He wonders what it say about his life that he’s in bed in his pajamas before eleven, surfing the internet. Torres has emailed more pictures and videos of Valentina. The guy’s gotten sickeningly camera happy since his daughter came but it’s kind of cute. He’d been uncertain about Robertson’s decision until the moment he’d seen the baby, as Jonathan understands it, and after that it had all been over.

It’s both enjoyable and depressing. So many guys in the leagues are finally coming out, finally being okay with who they are. They’re getting married and starting families. There’s still so few people that know he likes men. He’d never even told Eli. Even though he knows the man doesn’t have a prejudiced bone in his body, there’s still an echo of ‘Southern boys don’t’ ringing in the back of his mind and a mild fear. When it gets close to coming out, his skin feels like it shrinks and he breaks out in a sweat. It’s ridiculous.

When the doorbell rings, he nearly falls out of the bed. Nobody knows where he lives and good neighborhood or not, someone showing up this late kind of worries him. He goes to the kitchen first, grabs a knife and creeps to the front door, peering through the peephole. Eli is shifting from foot to foot, looking around with an expression of mild curiosity. Jonathan puts the knife aside and opens the door, blinking at him.

“How did you know where I live?”

“Hello to you too.” Eli snorts, holding up chinese and a six pack. “Apparently one of the Pirates HR people loves me, I puppy eyed her into turning over the information. Now, you gonna let me in or no? Nice pajamas by the way.”

Jonathan steps back on autopilot, holds the door for Eli and gestures into the living room before shutting and locking the door. The older man is already on the couch, spreading food out along the coffee table. It’s their favorites, everything that they used to order at a place in Chinatown back in San Francisco. He wonders how Eli remembered but stops before he starts, because this is _Eli_. He never forgets things that he knows make people happy.

For lack of a roadmap for the situation, he flips on the TV and channel surfs until he finds a decent movie. Eli doesn’t seem to notice any awkwardness, just talks easily about how his kids are and missing New Albany but how Toronto really isn’t that bad once you get used to it. He talks about different bars and restaurants, places to go and things to do. There’s a plan the next night for the team to go on a bar crawl and he insists that Jonathan has to go, tells him he won’t make friends just hiding in his house.

“I... Eli, what is this?” Jonathan blurts it out before he can stop himself, for buried in his kung pao chicken.

“What’s what?”

“We haven’t hung out in years. And we hardly saw each other during spring training. What’s so different all of a sudden?” He asks uncertainly. “I mean, it’s great. S’like things never changed. But... I don’t know.”

Eli puts his beer down, looks him in the eye. “I missed my best friend? I didn’t really know how to talk to you when we weren’t together all the time. I mean, you know me. I suck at talking on the phone. I have to, I don’t know, see people. And I didn’t know how to ask if we could hang out because I didn’t want to seem weird.”

Jonathan blinks. “What would be weird about it?”

“Because I wasn’t sure I could be around you and not kiss you.”

It feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. Eli is flushing but his gaze doesn’t waver, centered straight on Jonathan. Jonathan doesn’t know how to respond, doesn’t know what to do now that a crush that has spanned so many years turned out to not be the hopeless dead end that he’d convinced himself it would be. He reaches to Eli, hand trembling as he grips the older man’s shoulder and pulls him in for a soft, tentative kiss.

Just like he’d always imagined that it would be, it sparks, Eli’s soft lips sending a surge of feeling through him. He’s pulled closer, their bodies pressed together, every touch of their bodies together electric. Now that he’s had that taste, he can’t get enough, can’t pull away for fear that Eli will change his mind. Yet again, Eli surprises him but doesn’t surprise him, taking control of the situation like he takes control of everything else.

He pulls Jonathan shirt over his head, kissing him again, skimming a hand up his chest. He brushes his thumb over Jonathan’s nipple, laughs breathlessly against Jonathan’s lips when he moans, promising to remember it for later. They manage to get to their feet, stumble down the hall still attached at the lips, hands roaming each other’s body, clothing strewn across the floor. He all but shoves Jonathan onto the bed, crawling between his legs as he growls that Jonathan had better have something.

There’s nothing in the world except the two of them, Eli pressing him into the mattress, fucking him slow and deep. One hand grips Jonathan’s hip while the other arm supports his weight. He kisses Jonathan’s neck, bites his jaw and whispers that he’s wanted this for so long, never wanted anything more in his life, he can’t believe it’s finally happening, can’t believe that Jonathan finally belongs to him.

Usually Jonathan would object to anyone thinking he belongs to them. Now, all he can do is moan ‘Eli’ and ‘yes’ and ‘more’ and ‘please’ while he digs his fingers into the older man’s shoulders. His come splashes hot between them and Eli groans, makes a desperate noise that Jonathan has never heard from anyone before, growling Jonathan’s name. He fucks into Jonathan’s lax body, nearly driving him up the bed, teeth sinking into Jonathan’s shoulder when he comes.

Eli cleans them up with a handful of tissue and a still trembling hand, laughing breathlessly and kissing him time and again. His fingers skim over Jonathan’s cheek and down his chest again before his arm wraps around Jonathan’s waist and pulls him in close.

“Wanted you for so long.” Eli whispers. “Just... tell me you’ll be with me. Tell me you’ll be mine. You’re the only person I’ve ever wanted like this. The only person I ever l- the only person I need this badly. I can’t let that go. Too old to keep searching when what I want is right in front of me.”

“Yeah, you’re totally in that coffin dodging stage.” Jonathan mutters, but he settles in against Eli, resting his head next to Eli’s on the pillow. “You’re not the only one who spent years waiting for someone you love.”

“This is insane.”

“Too much time in San Francisco. That team would drive anyone over the edge.” Jonathan laughs quietly. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it though. We had good times there.”

Eli shrugs, kisses him. “We’ll start over. Make new memories.”

Jonathan responds with a kiss before tucking his head against Eli’s neck. This is all he’s ever wanted.


End file.
